Who BCCI pays more than Dhoni? Gavaskar and Shastri

If you thought current cricketers earned more than former cricketers in India, think again.

Itâ€™s not Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Virat Kohli to whom the BCCI pays the most annually. The biggest pay cheques from Indiaâ€™s cricket body goes to former players Sunil Gavaskar and Ravi Shastri â€“ over Rs.6 crore a year each, says a newspaper report.

Shastri is the BCCIâ€™s new team director and Gavaskar heads the Indian Premier League operations and will be paid Rs.2.37 crore each year as remuneration. This is besides the Rs.4 crore the two get as endorsed commentators for all international matches involving India, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Shastri will be team director till 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Gavaskarâ€™s earnings as head of IPL operations is according to a Supreme Court order, a BCCI official was quoted as saying in the report.
Compare this to Dhoni and Kohliâ€™s earnings from the BCCI. The Indian skipper, who figures in Forbesâ€™ list of worldâ€™s fifth most valuable athlete brand, was paid Rs.2.59 crore for 35 international matches in all formats in the last one year, said the report. This includes a retainer fee of Rs.1 crore.

Kohli earned a little more for the same period â€“ Rs.2.75 crore for 39 matches, said the report.